AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Linton, and What to Do Next
What to do about AdBlue in a diesel tank comes down to one thing more than any other: whether the engine has been run since it was put in. If it has not, keep it that way, whether the vehicle is in Linton itself or out in Little Abington. Usually that means draining and properly rinsing it on the spot in Linton — so leave the ignition and motor off and phone 0333 366 0103. Already started? Stop once safe, then turn it off. A larger job, then, but the same opening step.
Compare what happened to one of the list below, wherever around Cambridgeshire you are.
AdBlue in a diesel on a Linton forecourt
Picture it: standing by the pump, gripping the nozzle, you spot the cap you took off wasn't the correct one. Perhaps you're at the BP, maybe at the Acorn Garage, perhaps somewhere else around Linton.
Meaning? Spotting it here is the best it can be. Only that tank has AdBlue; no part past it has taken it in.
What to do: do not get back in and fire it up to clear the petrol pump. Get the staff to help rolling it to a bay, save the bottle, then phone us from there. The equipment is explosion-proof and safe on a live forecourt, so a vehicle that cannot be pushed clear is cleared where it is at the petrol pump.
AdBlue in your diesel tank at home in Linton
The warning light had been on for days. You bought a bottle, poured it in on the driveway, and only when you put the empty bottle in the recycling did you look again at the cap. Houses just off Balsham Road get hit as much as everywhere else.
What it means: if you have not driven since, this is nearly as good as the forecourt. Diesel and AdBlue stay apart: the AdBlue drops to the floor of your tank and stays there, no matter how long it waits.
What to do: leave your keys inside the house so nobody moves the vehicle in the morning. Then call. Out in Hadstock or here in Linton, the drain is done at your driveway. Our equipment runs quiet enough not to disturb the street at night.
Drove off with AdBlue in a diesel in Linton?
Lumpy running, smoke, lost power or a glowing dashboard started a mile or two beyond the fill. Possibly it was on Lamb Fair Court, perhaps on the way out towards Cambridge, under 15 miles away.
Meaning? Your fuel pump has taken the AdBlue up. It has been through the filter and the lines and, the further you went, into the high-pressure fuel pump and the fuel injectors. Every restart, like every mile, carries it deeper.
What to do: pull over where it's safe to do so and switch off. Linton sits under 5 miles from the M11; there, come off at the first junction instead of pressing on for the services. Do not restart the vehicle to see if it has cleared; it will not have. Call, saying what distance your vehicle went.
AdBlue in the wrong tank of a hire, lease or company car
You have had this car barely a week. Unbeknown to you, the two fillers sit next to each other here — not like your own vehicle, which has no AdBlue or keeps it in another spot. Anywhere you happen to be around Cambridgeshire, any motorist could slip up.
Meaning? Whichever applies above counts too — run or unrun — and one further step. The owner often has to sign off the work, under plenty of hire and fleet contracts.
Settling it before the van arrives is quicker, and so phone the rental company or your fleet manager, and then us. If you're stuck in the car park at Great Chesterford, or by Linton Library, while you wait for an answer, leave your car off.
Linton: unsure if it was AdBlue in the diesel tank?
At times the honest answer is "I think so". Which cap was taken off, you cannot recall; meanwhile the bottle weighs lighter than it ought to, and a whiff of ammonia hangs by the filler. A rushed stop by the gates of Linton CofE Infant School, or a visit to a friend in Balsham: either fits.
What it means: a little spilled round the filler does no damage to the motor. If it's inside the diesel tank, though, it does. Any AdBlue in that tank would be drawn in by firing up the car, and the start would not settle which it is in any case.
Assume it got in, and never start the key. Tell us what you saw on your phone. A clean tank checked counts as a happier outcome than an already-run one drained.
The common ground in each Linton AdBlue drain
Each situation gets the same opening to the job. Forecourt, drive, Waggon & Horses's car park or a street by Linton Village Hall — our van reaches your car, and three answers come next: what liquid, which amount, and whether it ran. On the phone, ahead of dispatch, you are told the price, and those replies shape the work too.
A thorough flush comes after this drain. With petrol it's routine; with AdBlue it is crucial, since deposits build up and some metals are attacked, and none of that rinses out unaided. Then comes the filter — flushed, or replaced when needed — followed by clean diesel, and a test of the vehicle. Most unstarted vehicles are a half-hour job after the moment our engineers get there.
Our engineers fire it up at the end. Our check that it runs smoothly on clean diesel comes before our technicians leave. We do the entire job where the car is, and lasting damage is very rare when it has been caught early. Payment is that day, never upfront. For the insurer, you get a VAT invoice and a written report from the engineer. Plenty of insurance policies include misfuelling cover, and so it's worth checking yours while we are on the way.
About Linton and where it is
Linton is a village in Cambridgeshire, situated on the River Granta, with a mix of semi-detached housing and other residential properties. Linton sits at an elevation of around 48 metres, near the villages of Hadstock, Bartlow, and Hildersham. Linton is located approximately 10 miles from Cambridge and 44 miles from London, making it a commuter-friendly location. Linton has a population of around 1874 residents, living in a variety of housing types, predominantly semi-detached homes.
AdBlue drains round Linton and across Cambridgeshire
Bartlow and Hildersham get the identical teams as Linton, a village, plus further places throughout CB postcodes. Quickest of all: a CB21 4 postcode for where you stand.
Parked heading to The Rec, or right in the centre of Linton, your vehicle remains where it is — there is no need to shift it anywhere. We drain it where it stands. If you're somewhere hard to describe, close to St Mary the Virgin or close to a border, ring and ask instead of assuming.
In one line: your situation
Not run yet: keep the car off then call. Started by now? Pull over, switch off, phone. Petrol in Diesel takes over the remainder whatever it is, in Linton and Cambridgeshire, on 0333 366 0103.